Tag: retirement planning

Next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop Announced!

Are you, or someone you know, ready to turn 65?  Is your mailbox overflowing with offers of insurance?  Are you starting to get confused by all the information  you are reading?  Then, plan to come to our next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” workshop and we will try to help eliminate some of the confusion!

 

Thursday, September 12

5:30 pm

Seniormark/Troy Office

1385 Stonycreek Road

 

Please call our office at 937-492-8800 to save yourself a seat!  See you then!

Announcing a new claims workshop!

medicareWe have heard your requests, and are responding!!!  We are happy to announce that we have put together a new workshop to be offered to all of our clients — on claims!!!

Do you get frustrated trying to read your explanation of benefits from your insurance company?  Trying to figure out what your last statement from your doctor’s office means?  Well, we are here to help!!!

Thursday, July 25, at 3:30 in our Sidney office, come and learn more about “Understanding your Medicare Claims”.

Please call to reserve a seat (or two!) if you are planning to come, so that we can be sure we have enough seats!

Come and celebrate our Grand Opening with Us!

open house ad

(Click on image to enlarge)

Turning 65 and looking for some answers?

Are you turning 65 and wondering what the next step is? 

We will be holding our next Medicare Solving The Medicare Puzzle Workshop:

Wednesday, June 26 @ 5:30 pm – Location: Troy office — 1385 Stonycreek Road. 

This is an introductory session explaining the 4 parts of Medicare and what an individual’s options are when they turn 65 or retire and go on Medicare.  We have had an excellent response to these workshops, so if you know of someone who could benefit, please let them know.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP:  Toll Free – 877-492-8803, or comment on this post!

Next workshop date announced

Our next Solving the Medicare Puzzle Workshop will be held on Thursday, May 9 at 5:30 pm in our new Sidney office at 2551 Michigan Street in Sidney. Seats may be reserved by calling our office at 937-492-8800 or online by clicking https://seniormark.com/workshops/ .

If you know someone who would like to or should attend, please share this post with them!

Next Troy Workshop announced!

Our next Solving the Medicare Puzzle Workshop will be held on Thursday, December 13 at 5:30 pm in our Troy office at 1385 Stonycreek Road, Troy. Seats may be reserved by calling our office at 937-492-8800 or online by clicking https://seniormark.com/workshops/ .

If you know someone who would like to or should attend, please share this post with them!

Stock Market Returns without the Risk…Are you kiddin me? Part 2

There are many problems with these products, but the biggest is that the caps and participation rates they quote you when you first buy the annuity are typically not guaranteed contractually.  In fact, many of the “promises” they make up front are not guaranteed.  They may give you a participation rate of 100% initially, but if you read the contract they have the right to lower it at their discretion.  So if the markets move in a direction that hurts the insurance company, you may find out that they have the right (contractually) to lower your payout to 50%, or your cap to 3-4%.

I know this to be true first hand as my Dad purchased one.  Believe it or not, he was told his participation rate would be 110%.  And it was for the first year!  But when his anniversary date rolled around he received a letter from the insurance company.  You guessed it…they were reducing his participation rate down to 50%, and there was nothing he could do about it because the annuity had a 7 year penalty period if he cashed out early.  And can you guess what his participation rate was for the remaining 6 years?  You got it…50%.  And I’ve heard the same thing from clients of mine who have had these products with caps that started at 10-12% and are now down to 4%.  And if you have one that charges a fee, that fee can be raised contractually.

Another problem with these annuities is the length of time you are locked in to the agreement, called a “surrender period.”  Most of the ones sold today lock you in for 10 years, meaning if you take your money out early you will pay a penalty.  The number one selling EIA in 2011 had a 10 year surrender period and the penalty was 10% for the first 3 years on the contract.  I have also seen higher surrender periods and penalties.  I met with a client a year ago and her surrender penalty was 17% in the first year with a surrender period of 15 years.

So how do you protect yourself?  The easiest way would be to avoid these products altogether, as there are better options for you.  If you ARE considering an Equity Indexed Annuity, then make sure you do your homework.  Make sure you are getting your advice from the right person, which is probably not the person who is pitching it to you.  I recommend getting a second opinion from an advisor who doesn’t earn a commission from the product.

If you have had any experience with an equity indexed annuity (good or bad), please share it with us by leaving a comment below.

New and improved website~

Things are changing all over the place at Seniormark! We are so excited about these changes, because it means we will be able to provide the same excellent service our clients are used to, while being able to add even more ways of teaching and expanding the knowledge base of our clients.

Today’s exciting announcement is that our website has been completely redesigned and has a fresh new look! We hope you will head over there and take a peek. We will continually update it with new videos, keep our prices current, etc.  Bookmark it and visit often for changes!

Please check out the new website at https://www.seniormark.com and let us know what you think!

The Two Faces of Your Financial Planner

I recently read an excellent article in AARP Magazine about the inherent conflict of interest that many so called “financial planners” have and what they do to hide it from you.  It’s the same thing I have been teaching people about for over 15 years and why I am a “fee only” Certified Financial Planner™.

Definitely worth the time…what you don’t know can hurt you!

Announcing……our next Medicare Workshop!

seniormark favicon

Are you turning 65 and wondering what the next step is?

We will be holding our next Medicare Solving The Medicare Puzzle Workshop:

Tuesday, May 15 @ 5:30 pm – Location: Sidney office — 1602 Wapakoneta Avenue.

This is an introductory session explaining the 4 parts of Medicare and what an individual’s options are when they turn 65 or retire and go on Medicare.  We have had an excellent response to these workshops, so if you know of someone who could benefit, please let them know.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP:  Toll Free – 877-492-8803, or comment on this post!